How to Bill Over $1 Million in Your First Year of Business, with Ross Cohen

Ross Cohen left his role as managing director at one of Florida's leading search firms to launch Brinc Search Partners with his business partner, Brett Nortman. They gave up an established brand, a built-out book of business and the steady flow that came with a larger firm. Ross also had a non-compete preventing him from approaching his former clients. Brinc launched in March 2025. In its first year, Ross and Brett billed over $1 million. They did it by getting scrappy. Although both had spent years specializing in financial services recruitment, Ross accepted searches ranging from executive assistants to engineers. These assignments kept revenue moving, helped Brink prove its value and opened the door to further work. Ross also explains why Brinc does not rely on traditional cold calls. Each search begins with people Ross and Brett already know in the market. They gather intelligence, ask for referrals and identify passive candidates who may never appear through job boards or LinkedIn searches. You'll also hear why they hired their first associate before the business felt ready, how face-to-face meetings fit into Brinc's hybrid schedule and how the team uses Recruiterflow, PIN and Claude to reduce administration and present candidates more effectively. **What You'll Learn:** - How Ross and Brett billed over $1 million in Brinc's first year - Why accepting searches outside their specialty helped create early momentum - How Ross rebuilt his book of business without approaching former clients - Why existing relationships outperform traditional cold calls - How referral conversations uncover passive candidates - Why Brinc hired its first associate earlier than planned - How in-person meetings help the team assess cultural fit - How Claude reduces administration and improves candidate presentation **Episode Outline:** \[00:10] Billing over $1 million in the first year \[05:16] Lessons Ross carried from equity research into executive search \[17:22] Building candidate flow at StevenDouglas before launching Brinc \[23:01] Leaving an established firm to launch Brinc \[27:42] Rebuilding the business one phone call at a time \[38:51] Hiring an associate before the firm felt ready \[50:38] Replacing traditional cold calls with warm market conversations \[59:40] Building Brinc's technology stack around Recruiterflow, PIN and Claude **About Ross Cohen:** Ross Cohen is the co-founder of Brinc Search Partners. He launched the firm with Brett Nortman in March 2025 after building a financial services recruitment practice at StevenDouglas. Ross began his career in equity research at Lazard before moving into recruitment with Solomon Page. He holds Series 7, 63, 86 and 87 securities licenses, an economics degree and a master's in international business from the University of Florida. He is based in South Florida. **Connect with Ross:** Ross on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-cohen-44658037/ Brinc Search Partners: www.brincsearch.com Podcast Partners: This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow, an AI-native ATS and CRM built for serious recruiting businesses. Learn more: https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow It is also brought to you by Juicebox, the modern AI platform for recruiting. Juicebox combines more than 30 datasets with AI models to support search, outreach and pipeline management in one workflow. Learn more: https://recruitmentcoach.com/juicebox **Connect with Mark Whitby:** Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwhitby/ Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/markwhitby Mark on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRecruitmentCoach/ Mark on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recruitmentcoach/ Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter: https://plinkhq.com/i/1489513354